Meaning & use
making a comparison
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Meaning
phrasefixed phrase
The act of examining two or more things to see how they are similar or different.
Grammar: Often used after verbs like 'when', 'before', or 'after', or as a subject: 'Making a comparison can be helpful.'
Patterns
- making a comparison between something and something
- making a comparison with something
Making a comparison between the two candidates is difficult because they have very different strengths.
Before making a comparison, you should check that the prices include tax.
The report begins by making a comparison of the two countries' health systems.
Common combinations
- making a fair comparison
- To make a fair comparison, we need to look at the same time period for both companies.
- making a direct comparison
- The teacher warned against making a direct comparison between the two poems.
- making a comparison between
- She is making a comparison between life in the city and life in the countryside.
Synonyms and how they differ
- comparing
- More direct and often used as a verb; 'comparing' is shorter and more common in everyday speech.
- contrasting
- Focuses on differences rather than similarities; use 'contrasting' when you want to highlight how things are different.
Word family
- compare verb
- To examine things to see how they are similar or different.
- comparison noun
- The act or result of comparing.
- comparable adjective
- Similar enough to be compared.
Commonly confused: making a comparison or contrast?
making a comparison vs contrast
Contrast means to compare in order to show differences, while comparison can show both similarities and differences.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'making a comparison' correctly?
Choose one answer.
The standard pattern is 'making a comparison between An and B'. 'Comparison to' is less common and often means 'likening', while 'comparison of' is possible but less idiomatic here, and 'with' is used for comparing one thing to another, not for two things together.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “making a comparison”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.